Claude Lévi-Strauss, Akira Iriye, Emma Rothschild, Ibrahima Thioub, Laura Wong, Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow and Federico Mayor are among the intellectuals who contributed with reflections to the International Symposium "60 Years of UNESCO's History".

This symposium took place on the occasion of the Organization's 60th anniversary in November 2005. The Proceedings with communications by more than eighty historians, anthropologists, philosophers and other scholars and students are now available on line in French; the English version will be published soon. The History Club of the Association of Former UNESCO Staff (AFUS) organized an oral history round table session during the symposium; the papers presented here are included in this publication.

"We will agree that UNESCO is a historic place and a place for history - not a smoothed out system of obvious causes and continuities, but a place that has known ruptures, sharp and unforeseen turns, remarkable thoughts and an infinity of deeds. To sum up, it is a world to understand, stimulating in each of us the taste for archives."
Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO

Archivists throughout the world celebrate Interational Archives Day on 9 June

On 9 June 1948 the International Council on Archives (ICA) was founded at UNESCO in Paris. The ICA has decided that an International Archives Day shall be celebrated on 9 June and the first ever International Archives Day is, therefore, also the 60th anniversary of ICA.

The International Archives Day offers archivists throughout the world a tremendous opportunity to promote the cause of records and archives in their country. More...

Newsletter on Archives and Human Rights

A new electronic Newsletter to share relevant information among archival institutions with significant holdings for human rights investigations and individual archivists with special interests in human rights issues.

Call for expressions of interest: 30 April 2008
The International Scientific Committee for the UNESCO History Project is planning to organize three international conferences in 2009-2010, with the common purpose of encouraging and stimulating historical research and reflections on UNESCO's programmes, activities and orientations from 1945 to date.
Contact : j.boel@unesco.org

UNESCO Oral Archives Initiative

This project was launched in 2006; the purpose is to collect personal accounts on UNESCO's history from persons who have been closely associated with UNESCO activities, either as staff members or in cooperation with the Organization.


International Scientific Committee for the UNESCO History Project

Composed of recognized historians and other scholars from different regions in the world, the committee has been created and met in Paris on 30 June 2006, 23 february 2007 and 18 january 2008.

For more information: j.boel@unesco.org